Sibling Rivalry

One of the main themes of Montana 1948 is Sibling Rivalry. Although uncle Frank and Wes are adults, they still have sibling rivalry. David explains that Frank is handsome, wavy haired, tall, and had the athletic grace his father Wes lacked. David says, “ Frank was witty, charming, at smiling ease with his life and everything in it. Alongside his brother my father soon seemed somewhat prosaic. Oh, stolid, surely, and steady and dependable. But inevitably, inescapably dull. Nothing glittered in my fathers wake the way it did in Uncle Franks.” This shows how Wes is competing with Frank and has been his whole life. When one sibling is better than the other at something it often leads to rivalry. Frank is more athletic and better looking than Wes; therefore, they have sibling rivalry.

A good tactic to deal with sibling rivalry is to use your sibling’s success to push yourself (Henry, 2008.); however, in Montana 1948 Wes does not do that. Many siblings compete and get angry at each other when one does better, but using this tactic could improve the sibling’s relationship and daily lives. In the article Family Feud Olympia says, “ I used her earning that scholarship as motivation to excel in my classes.” This shows Olympia using her sister’s success to push herself. In Montana 1948 Frank goes to the army and does many honorable things, which causes the father of Frank and Wes to favor Frank. Instead of making something positive out of this, Wes just walks away from the speech and picks up garbage. He does not change his life or try to improve his job. Wes should have taken this as an inspiration to do something big such as moving to be a sheriff in a town where he actually has to do something. Instead he did nothing and held his jealousy of his brother in. Some siblings act the same way as Frank and Wes, and many act worse by fighting verbally or physically. Henry’s tactic of dealing with sibling rivalry is peaceful and efficient.


Although the essay paragraph and the research paragraph are both focused on sibling rivalry they are both very different. The essays main focus is to show themes of the book, and one if them is sibling rivalry whereas the main focus of the research paper is to show tactics to deal with sibling rivalry. In the research paper we had to connect the tactics to our literature, Montana 1948. When writing an essay you use the book to support your statements; however, when writing a research paper you use facts or articles to support your statements. An essay is more creative than a research paper.

For some good examples of a research paper and an essay go to Laurens blog. http://www.lifeeoflaurenn.blogspot.com/